


I'll Be Waiting

by images_words



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1940s, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amputee Bucky Barnes, Bucky Barnes Has PTSD, Bucky Barnes Returns, Bucky Barnes Was Drafted, Comfort/Angst, M/M, Men Crying, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Presumed Dead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-09 12:08:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18637837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/images_words/pseuds/images_words
Summary: Steve Rogers refuses to give up hope that Bucky will come back. After all, he's never met anyone as strong as Bucky. But when Bucky finds his way back home, he's not the same.





	I'll Be Waiting

_**1943** _

When Steve opened the door to his apartment, he was greeted by the sound of someone crying. He frowned. "Buck? You alright?"  
"No," Bucky's voice came from the bedroom. Steve peeked in to see Bucky sitting on the edge of the bed, head in his hands. Steve sat down beside him.  
"What's wrong, doll?"  
"Stevie... they're sendin' me away... They're sendin' me off to somewhere in Europe and I'm scared..."  
Steve felt like he had been punched in the stomach. Not Bucky. Not his Bucky... Bucky. Bucky needed him. That thought was enough to snap him out of it. "Hey... it's gonna be alright, Buck... you're gonna be okay..."  
"I'm so scared, Stevie... I don't wanna die..."  
Steve sighed. "Don't talk like that, Bucky. You ain't gonna die. Because I'm gonna be expectin' ya back in time for dinner, understand?"  
Bucky smiled a little at that. "Y-yeah... I won't let ya down, Stevie."  
"Ya better not, Buck. I'll be waiting."

_**1944** _

It was some time in December when Steve woke to a knock on the door. He opened it to see a young man in an Army uniform standing there, looking quite sullen.   
"Steve Rogers?"  
"Uh- yeah. Yeah, that's me."  
The man sighed. "Um... I'm a friend of Bucky's... and... see, normally we woulda just sent a letter, but... I think he would have wanted me to tell you personally... he... he's MIA. Presumed dead."  
"Wh-what?" Steve tried to fight back the tears that were welling up, but it was no use. The young soldier pulled him into a hug.  
"I'm sorry... I know ya really loved him. He told me about you and him, swore me to secrecy."  
Steve looked up at him. "...was he a good soldier?"  
"One o' the best. He was a damn hero. I figure he fought so hard 'cause he had somethin' to fight for. I think... I think he was always fightin' for you."  
"...Thank you for tellin' me."  
Once the man was gone, Steve broke down, curling in on himself. His Bucky was gone... He couldn't really be dead, could he? He was still out there somewhere. He had to be. 

_**1945** _

Steve was waiting at the airport. He knew, logically, that he should have stayed home. Bucky was dead. Bucky wasn't coming home. But he felt like to stay home would be an insult to Bucky's memory. He had to wait for him, even if he knew he wasn't coming.  
"Stevie?"  
Steve looked up. "...Buck?"  
It was Bucky, alright. He looked exhausted, and his hair was considerably longer than it had been when he left... but that was Bucky. He leaned on a woman who seemed to be holding him up, looking as if he would collapse without her there to support him.  
"Buck, what happened?"  
Bucky laughed. "I, uh... I fell from a moving train. And then got captured by Nazis. Strangely enough, they didn't treat their prisoners too good."  
The woman smiled reassuringly, seeing that Steve was clearly worried. "My name is Peggy Carter. I assure you, Bucky will be just fine. He's still learning to walk with the prosthesis is all."  
"The... the what?"  
"I lost an arm and a leg. Literally. Like I said, Nazis treat their prisoners like shit. Didn't get medical attention, shit got infected... Had to have things amputated. But I'll be okay..." He trailed off, and his eyes seemed unfocused, glazed. Peggy shook him gently.  
"Bucky. Bucky, hey, listen to me."  
But Bucky didn't seem to be all there anymore. He was shaking, Steve noticed. And then he was forcing Peggy away, fighting off an invisible enemy.  
"What's happenin' to him?!"  
Peggy sighed. "He's been having... flashbacks. Bucky! Bucky, it's Peggy!"  
"...Let me try." Steve slowly approached Bucky. "Buck? It's me. It's Stevie... can ya hear me?"  
Bucky turned toward his voice. He didn't 'snap out of it' as Steve had expected. He seemed to return to reality slowly, readjusting to the world. "...Stevie..."  
"Yeah, Buck. It's me. I'm here. It's gonna be okay."


End file.
